Spectacle
by Arctimon
Summary: Episode 2 of Teen Titans Season Six: Family. The circus is back in town! Too bad one of the Titans' foes is as well...and he's made it into his own personal playground! Raven steps up in a high-flying battle in the big top! Chapter 4 is now up!
1. Get The Show on The Road

_**Disclaimer:** The Teen Titans characters and animation are the property of Glen Murakami and Warner Bros. Animation. The circus is owned by Britney Spears. Or...at least the song "Circus", anyway._

* * *

_**Prologue – Get the Show on the Road**_

"I still don't understand why I have to be here."

"Because we're obligated, that's why. Now, come on."

Raven sighed. This wasn't exactly how she wanted to spend her free time. It usually consisted of peace, quiet, tea, and reading.

Not calamity, noise, soda, and ruckus.

It had been one week since the night Slade had almost blown all of them to kingdom come. Since then, things had fallen back into its regular pattern. The villains had started to come out of hiding since being unfrozen, and the first ones to feel it were the bank tellers. Luckily, it was nothing that the Titans couldn't handle.

Gizmo, they began to realize, only had so many toys that he could throw at them.

Robin had made it a point to bring in several other Titans into the mix, but those were mostly hit or miss. While Bushido and Jericho were quiet and didn't bother Raven during their patrol, Kid Flash had more than a few things to say about everything under the sun.

_Next time, Beast Boy's going with him_, she thought.

Other than said patrols and Gizmo's shenanigans, Slade had not reared his head again. This was a double-edged sword: no attacks from him meant good news, but that just meant he was gearing up for something worse.

"Raven, you coming?"

Of course, she would probably have preferred to be in another exploding warehouse than be where she was right now. Hence the circus.

Once a year, Jump City hosted a traveling circus, and they would set up just off of the shoreline, right near the Titans tower. Normally, Raven would be perfectly content to sit in the tower and not be associated with anything fun, according to Cyborg and Beast Boy.

But someone had roped her in this year.

"Is it not glorious, Raven? There is the candy that is not quite cotton and the corn that is popped!"

…Not to mention any names.

Actually, it wasn't fair to single out Starfire. This year, the circus was honoring the team, and the flyers encouraged the visitors to dress up as their favorite Titan. Thus, most of the kids were running around in make-shift costumes. It wouldn't be a very good time if the actual Titans weren't there, right?

"Haha! That's so awesome!" Beast Boy was busy admiring the wearings of a young boy, who had painted himself to match the Titan's skin color.

Raven watched a young girl sputter past her, cloak flapping in the wind. "Couldn't I just stay at the Tower?"

"Oh, come on Raven! Don't be such a downer," Cyborg said. He was walking next to her, two larges cones of cotton candy in his hands. "All the kids love us. You can at least like them for one day, right?"

No response.

"...You can _acknowledge_ them for one day, right?"

Raven ignored his question. "And why exactly can't Robin be here with us again?"

Not getting a response, she looked up at her teammate to see his death glare staring back at her.

Oh. Right.

"You know very well why, Raven. Trust me, I _tried_ to get him out. But he used his usual of excuse of 'having to go recruit' or 'follow a lead' or 'iron his dog' or something." Cyborg slurped up one of his cones. "But I'm not going to press the issue."

"Sorry. I...forgot."

"Apology accepted." The Titan ate his other cone in one bite, licking his lips. "Now c'mon, the main event's about to start. Beast Boy should have our seats ready for us."

Raven and Cyborg made their way to the largest tent in the area and climbed up the back stairway. The reserved seats were at the middle of the bleachers, two of which were already occupied by the green-skinned teen and the Tamaranian.

"And then...and _then_...they're going to bring the lions out and have them run around with funny hats on!" Beast Boy was no doubt getting Starfire in the mood.

"Hehehe! I do love the Earth felines with the funny hats!"

"Where have you two been off to?" Beast Boy chided the arriving duo. "They're going to start any second."

"Oh, you know. I had to get Raven to chisel out a smile before stepping in here." Cyborg turned to the spellcaster, who did not appreciate his joke.

"...Guess you should've gotten a bigger slab of rock."

FWOOM!

A giant pillar of smoke erupted from the center of the ring, signaling the beginning of the show. From the cloud came a man in a large black cloak, his giant black hat obscuring his face.

"Probably a packet of smoke under the ground, lit by an incendiary charge-Ow!"

Raven rubbed her side, sore from where Cyborg had elbowed her. Sometimes she wondered if he ever forget he was part robot. The thought went out of her mind, however, because the booming voice of the ringmaster started to roll through the entire tent.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boy and girls! People of all ages! Greetings and welcome to the Graham Brothers Family Extravaganza!" A thunderous amount of applause rang out as the man continued. "We have all sorts of excitement and fun for you this evening, but let's not forget our special guests with us tonight! The Teen Titans!"

Another round of applause flared up for the local heroes, Beast Boy in particular hamming it up for the audience.

"The gallant guardian Cyborg! The champion changer Beast Boy! The joyful warrior Starfire! And last but not at all least, the enigmatic enchantress Raven!"

The noise escalated at Raven's mention, who noticed that most of the children in attendance were wearing cloaks very similar to hers. She couldn't help but smile at that fact.

"See, Raven?" Cyborg whispered. "They love you!"

And that's when she noticed the man was starting to walk toward them.

"Ah yes, the Titans! I see that the young sons and daughters of Jump City took our advice and wear the costume of their favorite Titan. Good! Very good! Your wonderful work will be the spectacle of all sorts of wonder and amazement tonight!"

"Something's not right here," Raven said.

"Oh, would you come off it, Raven?" Beast Boy yelled from beyond Cyborg's arm. "Why do you have to ruin everything?"

"No, shut up. I can feel someone else's presence here. A magical one."

"For you see, citizens of Jump City, your entertainment tonight will be coming from the Titans themselves!"

The deep voice shifted into a high-pitched one. One that caused the four Titans to snap their heads down to center stage.

"So hang on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen..."

The top hat sprang off of the man's head and slowly fluttered down to reveal a blue face, a large nose and thin white hair, the mouth creaking into a maniacal smile. A wand flew out of the sleeve as the cloak turned a bright red. The wand came forward and stopped right in front of Mumbo Jumbo's face...

And aimed right at Raven's chest.

"Because we're going to have a _blast_!"

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I wanted to sub in a shorted version of the theme song at the end, but...I can't think of one. I could just shove the _Go!_ one in there, but hey. I think we're all thinking in our heads where the theme song should be.

So this is "Episode 2", one that will be centered on Raven, not just in the choice of villain, but in the aspect of her relations to the public and her acceptance of that. I won't spoil too much, but hopefully this won't take me eighteen months to complete like Episode 1 did.

Robin will show up at some point. I'm not purposefully ignoring him. He's not there right because of obvious reasons.

Chapter 1 should be up soon. Until then, read and review, if you like. See you next time.


	2. Ballyhoo

_**Disclaimer: **The Teen Titans characters and animation are the property of Glen Murakami and Warner Bros. Animation._

* * *

_**Chapter 1 – Ballyhoo**_

Raven dove out of the way of the magic blast, as did the rest of the team. It slammed into the wall behind them, sending splinters in all directions. The shockwave was enough, however, to momentarily rob Raven of her senses. Muffled screaming was followed up by the footsteps of her teammate.

"You all right, Raven?"

"I'm fine." She stood herself up to dust herself off, ignoring the ringing in her ears. "You?"

"Good. Although Mumbo's not gonna be in a second." As Robin was not present with them, Cyborg immediately took over as active leader of the team. "BB! Star! Get everyone out of here as fast as you can! Raven, you're with me! Let's do this!"

Beast Boy and Starfire flew off (the former in eagle form) to coordinate the evacuation, and Raven and Cyborg jumped down to face the pseudo-magician.

"Did you like my little performance there, Titans?" Mumbo sang, the top hat practically dancing on his head. "It was almost award-worthy!"

"Mumbo!" Cyborg yelled, his arm cannon aimed at him. "Your deck's about to get cut."

"...Really?" Raven monotoned.

"Yeah, I know. I gotta work on my clever one-liners. Robin hasn't taught me enough of them yet." Cyborg sent an energy blast at Mumbo, who merely sidestepped it.

"When Beast Boy comes back, can I yell at him and say 'I told you so'?

"Tell you what." Cyborg raised his cannon to aim another shot. "When we beat Mumbo, you can do whatever you want with him."

Raven raised an eyebrow at him.

"No, not like _that_. Take your mind out of the gutter!"

"My mind is _not_ in the gutter," Raven retorted, the irony not lost on her. "It's perfectly clear, thank you very-"

"Raven, look out!"

The spellcaster's gaze yanked forward to see two giant hands careening in her direction. She quickly melted into the ground, the hands flying harmlessly past her.

"Ahhh. I see you've gotten flashier since I've last seen you! Wonderful! That will make this most entertaining!" Mumbo was giggling even more than his usual self. "I do wonder when you Titans are ever going to learn? You can't beat me!"

"...Even though we did a few times before."

"Hey, missy! No backseat driving!" Mumbo yelled at Raven. "This time is different. I have a whole set of new tricks up my sleeve. Observe!" The top hat grew to cover his entire body and began to circle around the duo. After a moment, it stopped, only for them to see that several identical hats were now in formation around them.

"Go ahead, Titans. Pick one. Any one. They won't bite...mostly!"

"Got any ideas, Raven?" Cyborg asked her.

"Yeah. One." Her eyes began to glow white. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She waved her hand and sent a wave of dark energy towards the hat opposite her, only for a large wooden hammer to come out of the top, almost crashing into Cyborg.

"Got any _other_ ideas?" Cyborg yelled. "Preferably one that doesn't involve pummeling me into the ground?"

"_Cannonballlll!"_

Both he and Raven froze, the shrill voice of the youngest member of their team coming from somewhere from the ceiling of the tent. They both, however, looked down to see a shadow growing underneath their feet.

"Is he doing what I think he's doing?"

Raven sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Yes. Yes, he is. Come on." She grabbed Cyborg's arm and they both were swept up by her soul spirit, melting into the ground again.

"Hey, kiddos! Where are you running off to?" Mumbo said. "I have more games for us to-"

And then he noticed the shadow himself.

"...Oh dear."

The tremendous slam from the humpback whale sent tremors throughout the ground, the cry of said green whale emanating throughout the ground. Seemingly content, it turned back into Beast Boy, who gave off a resounding whoop.

"Score one for the Titans, baby!"

"You know, BB," Cyborg said from the safety of the opposite side of the tent, "One of these days, you should probably warn us when you're going to do that."

"The Whale Cannonball Special waits for no man, Cy!"

Through the exchange, Raven noticed Mumbo, flattened, blew himself back up using his thumb, cartoon-style.

"Uhh, guys. Problem still here!"

"It was a good thing I'm much stronger now, or else this magic show would have fallen _flat_! Get it, Titans? Flat!"

"...Dude, that was a bad joke. Even for me."

"Yeah, and Beast Boy's notorious for bad jokes."

He thumped his chest in agreement. "Yup, so don't even-Hey!"

Raven glided over to him, her slight chide cheering her up slightly. "Sometimes you make it too easy."

"Aren't we all lovebirds now?" Mumbo interrupted, waving his wand dramatically. "Perhaps I should permanently join you two together at the hip. Or saw you in half. Or make you into a lamp again. Or-Hey!"

Mumbo was suddenly lifted in the air from behind, his wand dropping to the ground. Before he could even think, the wand was snapped in half by a purple boot.

"You are appropriately named, villain, for you speak far too much of the 'mumbo jumbo' to be effective."

"Star! That was great!" Beast Boy said.

"Yeah," Cyborg followed, back with the group. "I'm impressed she got the idiom right."

"What did you just call me!?"

Raven shook her head slightly. "Beast Boy, now's not the time." She turned her attention back to Starfire...

And noticed something odd.

"Where'd Mumbo go?"

Starfire creaked her head up to see that she was only holding the cape in her hands. "Huh?" She whipped her head around to try to find him. "Look!"

All four looked to see Mumbo trying to tiptoe out of the front door of the tent. Upon the exclamation by Star, he sweat-dropped and turned back to the group.

"I don't suppose we can just let bygones be bygones?" Judging by the four glares that he received, that probably wasn't going to be the case. "Well, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice."

"You have no wand, Mumbo," Raven said, molding energy in her hand again. "What exactly are you going to threaten us with?"

"Glad you asked!" He replied, flourishing his hat again. "Your demise will come with the addition of..._this!_"

He brought his arms forward to show...another wand, almost identical to the one that he had had before.

Starfire was confused. "How exactly will you be able to beat us with your utensil again? It is not possible for you to take all four of us at once."

"Wait, Starfire." Raven looked closer at the new wand and noticed a very familiar gleam for the tip of the wand. "Is that what I think it is?"

Cyborg peered forward at the wand and grimaced. "Slade."

"You are correct, young Titans! Slade was gracious enough to give me one of his handy minerals for my scheme today! You should be so gracious as to have someone like him to assist in your schemes!"

"He's gone off the deep end," Beast Boy whispered to Raven's left. "Even for him."

"Well, it doesn't matter what Slade gave him." Raven lifted herself up, ready to attack again. "We have to stop him."

A dark mist began to swirl the end of the wand as Mumbo pointed it straight into the air. "It's too late. I will take center stage of this show! And my followers will complete my every beck and call!"

"Followers?" Starfire said. "What on this planet is he talking-"

BOOM!

A giant spout of dark energy erupted into the sky, ripping the top of the tent right off. The wind picked up almost immediately, and the sky darkened to the point where it became very hard to see.

"What is happening?" Star yelled.

"I...don't...know." Raven was too busy bracing herself against the wind to offer much analysis. She could hear the cackling of Mumbo across from her, and the girly scream of Beast Boy no doubt being swept off into the air.

She looked up and tried to squint through her arms to find her foe...and saw too late the giant wooden post slam into her body.

And then she saw nothing.

* * *

"Raven!"

The mage snapped her eyes open, her head aching in pain. Now she had Beast Boy in her face, his happy look not pleasing her in the slightest.

"You're awake, girl! You had us worried there!"

"Give her some space, Beast Boy."

Robin. It was only a matter of time before he showed up.

"I came as soon as Star called me. Are you OK?"

"I wish people would stop asking me that." Raven sat up and coughed. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine. Cyborg said that you might have a concussion."

She shook her head gingerly. "Probably not. Just a migraine. I just need some rest back at the Tower."

"We can do that later, Raven," Robin said, looking upward. "But I think we have bigger problems right now."

Confused, Raven followed his gaze up to the sky...and froze.

A gigantic dome of black energy was in front of them, slightly transparent so that they could look inside. The clouds above were dark and ominous, with the occasional crack of lightning.

"What on Earth _is_ that thing?" Beast Boy asked.

"I have no idea," Raven replied as Robin helped her up. "The last thing I remember is Mumbo waving his wand around. Slade's crystal probably amplified the power to the point where he couldn't control it anymore." She walked forward to the edge and tried to lay a hand on the wall.

Emphasis on tried.

A tendril of electricity zapped her, the force almost enough to throw Raven back. "Ugh!" Shaking off the pain, she took a step back. "This is bad. This isn't the usual parlor trick Mumbo does. This is actual magic. And powerful too."

"We are going to need to get inside and nab the magic man, friend Raven. How do you suppose we accomplish this?" Starfire asked.

"I...don't know. I need to research this a little further and see if we can-"

Raven stopped mid-sentence.

"What's wrong?"

"There's someone in there."

Cyborg squinted over her shoulder. "She's right. Someone is there. But it's not Mumbo."

The rest of the team came forward and saw what the two had: a small person on the opposite side of the wall, their face obscured by the shadows. They appeared to have a cloak on their back.

Almost as if they were reading the team's minds, the person stepped forward...

"No."

It was the girl from before, the one that had run past Raven when they were heading to the tent. Her cloak was still pristine...but the red demon eyes and the evil smile on her face were anything but.

Robin, stunned, turned toward her teammate. "Raven, what the heck is going on?"

For the first time in a very long while, she had no answer.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Mumbo's gonna have some 'splaining to do, isn't he?

Like I mentioned before, this will be more Raven-centric, in part because this is Mumbo we're talking about here. Speaking of which, I had to rewatch his episodes in the old show to get his demeanor down. He's acting a little more crazy than normal, and there's a reason for that, if you haven't already guessed it.

Chapter 2 should be up next week. Until then, leave a review if you like it. Until next time, ladies and gents.


	3. First of May

_**Disclaimer: **Magic is real. So are the owners of Teen Titans and the animation._

* * *

_**Chapter 2 – First of May**_

"_New at ten tonight, the citizens of Jump City continue to come to grips with the sudden disappearance of the Graham Brothers Circus and the appearance of what appears to be a giant dome of dark energy in the downtown area. It is believed that the villain known as Mumbo Jumbo has taken residence inside with an unknown number of hostages."_

The newsman paused for a moment, looking slightly off-camera. _"Police have now been focused on stopping what appears to be children being possessed by this dark energy. Reports of children robbing banks and causing mayham have come in from all over the city, with seemingly no end in sight-_

"Turn it off, Beast Boy."

"But what if we see-"

Robin glared him down. "We have more important things to worry about than the media right now."

Begrudgingly, Beast Boy powered down the TV, jumping over the couch to join the rest of the team. "Then what are we doing here?"

"We needed to regroup. We tried to corral one of those kids and got thrown halfway across the city. We need to come up with a plan and understand what's going on." Seeing Beast Boy's scoff, he sighed. "Look, I don't like it any more than you do, but I'm hoping this won't take long."

Robin brought up the map of the city on the monitor, and then turned to the rest of his team. "All right, people, what do we know?"

"Other than the fact that there's a giant dome right off the coast and people are getting sucked into it?" Cyborg quipped. "Not much else."

"We know that Mumbo's in there somewhere. He hasn't come out since the dome went up," Robin corrected. "We also know that he's using kids to do his dirty work."

Starfire hovered off to his right, deep in thought. "But Robin, the Mumbo is certainly not capable of performing arts of magic like this. Something is suspicious here."

"But who else would it be, though?" Beast Boy asked. "Mad Mod?"

Robin shook his head. "No, this isn't his style. I agree with Star. There's another player here. Maybe Slade? Didn't Mumbo have that crystal on his second wand?"

Cyborg had his own schematic up on his wrist, leafing through pages of material. "Doubtful. Through all of the tests we've run with that weird mineral, it only affect mechanical things. Not magic. It wouldn't have suddenly upgraded it from card tricks to what we saw today."

"Uhh...guys?"

The trio turned to Beast Boy, who was busy waving his arms around.

"What's up, B?"

"If it's magic we're dealing it, should we ask the one person who knows this stuff?"

Cyborg shifted his gaze around the common room. "Yeah...where _is_ Raven?"

* * *

Raven stood on the top of the nearest building, looking down at the energy dome with growing disdain.

"_She already left. She's trying to figure out how to dispel this thing, or at least try to get inside and stop Mumbo. Beast Boy's right; she has the most experience with dark magic, and not of the rest of us are even close to her understanding. If there's a way to stop this, she'll find it."_

She had no idea what to do.

By the time she had been dispatched out to the scene by Robin, the traffic of children going out and coming into the dome has ceased. All she could do was study the magic and try to find a solution.

She had agreed with Robin; something was indeed off with Mumbo. This was not his usual method of operation; Mumbo liked to do things on his own. That way, the only person that would get the money was himself.

But that stare. Raven couldn't help but flash back to the look that girl had given her. It was...evil. Mumbo was a lot of things. Comedic, villainous, foolhardy...but evil? It was such a strong word. It didn't suit him. It didn't suit _this_.

Raven was so lost in her thoughts she had almost missed the person floating out of the dome. It was definitely one of the children, but they were heading off toward the shopping district, not aware of the Titan. Slowly, Raven began to follow, keeping at a safe distance.

A couple of minutes late, the unknown person landed in a alleyway, just across from the Jump City bank. They were just about to cross the street and head inside...

"Stop."

Raven materialized in front of them, her palm held forward. "Whoever you are, I don't want to hurt you."

The human gave an almost serpentine hiss, then darted back up into the sky.

"...Well, so much for civility." Raven flew up after them, but not before she had to leap out of the way of a magic blast.

"Mumbo's passing his magic off to others? Now I _know _something's up."

She had half a mind to call the other Titans, but as she swerved around another building, the hood of her escapee flew down...

Raven gasped. Deja vu all over again. It was the girl from before.

"I have to do something," Raven muttered. She closed her eyes and began to focus. "Azarath..."

Her hand glowed with energy.

"Metrion..."

Raven snapped her fingers.

"Zinthos!"

A large energy net appeared in front of the girl, who was not able to swerve in time. She flew headlong into the net which snared her from neck to toe.

"_Let me go, you insufferable heathen!"_

...OK, that was definitely not the talk of a little girl. Raven began to guide her captive back to the ground. "Whoever you are, demon, you're messing with the wrong people. They're under the protection of the Teen Titans."

"_I am no demon, girl,"_ the voice spoke. _"Surely you would have figured it out by now."_

"Listen to me..." Raven yelled, trying a different approach.. "I don't know your name, kid, but this isn't you. Someone's controlling you."

"_I don't listen to whelps like yourself."_

"Then it looks like I have no choice." The spellcaster spun the girl around and grabbed the clasp of the cloak. "Funny how everyone just started wearing these things around once the circus came into town. Is this how you're controlling them?"

"_No!"_ The girl tried to squirm out of her trap. "_Stop!"_

"Looks like I guessed right." Raven flowed some energy into her hand again, aiming to weaken its hold on the cloak. "I'll just-"

The enormous magic shockwave sent both parties in opposite directions. Raven slammed into the ground, the remnants of the cloak showering over her. Recovering quickly, she looked up to see the girl careening towards an apartment building.

She swore under her breath and melted into the ground. Right before the girl hit the wall, she was able to appear between them and catch her. Her back hit the wall, aggravating the heavy pain she was already feeling.

"It's OK. I got you."

Raven floated down to the ground and set her down. She was surprised to see she was not only awake, but on the verge of tears. "Are you alright?"

"My head hurts." Her eyes were wet and bloodshot. "I was hearing very bad voices."

"Trust me, I know what that feels like," Raven quipped, her hand glowing bright blue with her healing magic. "What's your name?"

"May." The girl looked up and appeared to just notice her savior's identity, almost immediately beginning to gasp. "You're Raven!"

"Indeed I am."

"I saw you at the circus!"

"Yeah." Raven silently cursed her lack of conversational skills. "Listen..." She placed her hand on the girl's back, steadying her. "I'm going to take you back to your parents, but I need help. There's a lot of kids like you that are in trouble right now like you were. Do you remember anything from when you were in that dome?"

May narrowed her eyes in thought. "I remember the weird blue man. He was saying a bunch of weird things."

"Like what?"

"About money or something. The man in the shiny stone didn't like that."

Raven's mind stopped. "What man?"

"There was a man that the blue guy was talking to. On his table. He kept talking really loud."

"Do you know what he looked like?"

"No." May looked down to the ground. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Raven said warmly. "Do you remember anything else about this man?"

The kid thought for a moment. "Ooh! I remember his name! But..." May got nervous again. "The blue man got yelled at whenever he said it. I don't want to get in trouble."

"Tell you what." Raven leaned forward. "You can tell me. I promise I won't tell."

May brightened and tilted her head to the Titan's ear and whispered something in a soft tone.

Raven's heart dropped.

"Are you sure?"

May nodded. "Is something wrong?"

Raven glanced behind her shoulder, not answering her question. "It's late. I need to get you back to your parents, and I need to talk to the other Titans." Putting on her bravest face, she looked back down at May. "You've been a big help, May. Now it's my turn to help everyone else."

* * *

To be honest, Raven almost wished that Slade _had_ been behind this.

But it was not. Instead, it was _him_.

Raven walked into her room, the cool breeze of familiarity in her nostrils. She saw her bed and almost jumped into it. Her body needed sleep.

Her mind disagreed.

She strode over to the large locked chest near the back wall. Steeling herself, she flipped the lid open.

The worn cover of the white and black book was still there.

The last time she had heard his name, Raven was staring into his bright red dragon eyes.

Malchior.

She took the book over in her hands. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. The book had not been touched since the Titans' battle with Malchior the first time. She still remembered the entire ordeal like it was yesterday. How he had mislead her into believing he was the wizard. How he had promised to teach her magic once lost to time.

How he cared about her.

Raven shook her head. "Can't think about that right now. He needs to be stopped. The book was able to stop him before; it should be able to do it again."

"_I'm afraid it's going to be more complicated than that."_

SMACK!

"_Ow!"_

The collision of the book hitting the ceiling was apparently enough to cause the mysterious voice to flinch in pain, although that was nothing compared to the scare Raven had just experienced.

"I am _not_ doing this again," she said firmly, magic at the ready. "Malchior, you're going to remove your influence from those children-"

"_I would love to do that, actually. But that foul beast is not present in this conversation."_

Raven lowered her hand only slightly. "And what makes me think I should believe you?"

"_Because I can show you."_

Raven saw the open book begin to glow, a few of the pages beginning to turn. She half expected for the paper to materialize, the dark eyes to look at her, and the humanoid guise of Malchior to appear before her again.

Instead, a ghostly figure started to form above the book. She wasn't sure who was going to materialize, but the instant the white hair and gray armor were visible, there wasn't any more doubt.

Raven lowered her arm in shock as she stood before the magician. So much so, he could only whisper his name.

"Rorek."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Well, this story took a weird turn.

As I was writing this chapter, I never had the odd couple known as Malchior and Rorek showing up at all. It was just going to be Mumbo. But as more and more of this got written down, it just sort of...steered into that direction. But I think this will actually make the story more interesting in the long run.

I'm sure some people are thinking "But Arct, you shining example of a human being, how are you going to explain these shenanigans? I thought Malchior was cursed away in the book."

Well, person I just made up, the Brotherhood of Evil somehow got a hold of him, because he was present at the final battle. Herald shooed him away, remember? Trust me, all will be explained with the two and how they ended up where they are now.

Chapter 3 will be next week, and also might be a little shorter. Read and review if you like. Until next time.


	4. Ringmaster

_**Disclaimer:**_ _The Teen Titans characters and animation are the property of Glen Murakami and Warner Bros. Animation._

* * *

_**Chapter 3 – Ringmaster**_

Over a thousands years ago, a young wizard and a dark dragon battled at the Castle of Nol. The battle lasted for a long while, neither force giving much of an edge to the other. After hours on continuous fighting, it would seem that the dragon had finally gained the upper hand. However, the wizard had one last trick up his sleeve: his spellbook. He spoke the forbidden curse, which trapped the dragon inside the book.

And that is how it came to pass that the grand wizard Malchior laid siege to the dread dragon Rorek.

...Or that's what he wanted her to believe.

Raven would later be gifted his spellbook before she left to go to Jump City, and in the doldrums of a boring afternoon, she had started to read it. Over the course of a few days, she had become enthralled with the story.

And that's when he had made his move.

Malchior had seduced her, strung her along, pretended to be a friend just so that he could escape his prison. He had succeeded, laying waste to the Tower and almost bringing the entire team to their knees before Raven used Rorek's same curse to trap him back into the book.

She had been heartbroken, naturally. Not only had she been lied to about everything Malchior had told her, but she _knew_ better than that. She had always prided herself on being the most levelheaded of the team. She was always looking for suspicion and deceit.

And when it was right underneath her nose, she didn't smell it.

During their final battle with the Brotherhood of Evil, Raven had seen the resurrected Malchior dive toward the child trio of Melvin, Timmy, and Teether. Preoccupied with Psimon, she yelled out for them to get out of the way, only for Herald to show up just in the nick of time, trapping his flame breath inside a portal and sending the dragon in after it.

Raven was never able to figure out exactly how the Brotherhood was able to release Malchior from his prison, nor did she really care. She thought he was gone for good.

And then today happened.

"_Raven?"_

The spellcaster had gotten so sidetracked in her mind that she completely forgot that her book was speaking to her. "Don't move," she said, her magic at the ready.

"_I do not think I'm really capable of moving anywhere, but your threat has been noted."_

The last time a book spoke to her, it had led to it turning into a dragon, so naturally Raven was a little hesitant. "Why are you here?"

"_To help aid you in your quest to vanquish the dread dragon Malchior. I would assume that would be obvious."_ The corporal form of Rorek crossed his arms. "_I thought that you were taught better than this."_

"And what exactly makes you think that I'm going to believe anything you say?" Raven asked. "For all I know, you could be an illusion of Malchior's. Something sent to trick me again."

"_A fair assumption. But that can be explained as well."_ Noting the spellcaster's silence, he continued. _"When I sealed away the dread dragon with that curse, it locked away a part of my soul within the book as well. Think of it as a safeguard. That is why I am able to speak to you on a corporal level while Malchior wrecks havoc in your world."_

"But it didn't work," Raven said, lowering her hand. "After I put him back into the book, Malchior was still able to get out. My team and I fought him before this time. Some other villains were able to convince him to fight against us."

Rorek rubbed his chin in thought. "_He was not anywhere near full strength, though. You defeated him rather easily."_

Raven raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

"_Soul link, remember? I can tell what his power is like even in this state. And I can tell you right now his power grows by the hour. It will eventually reach the point where not even you can hope to defeat him."_

She cautiously walked over to the book and picked it up, the open pages glowing with light. "Tell me more about this link of yours. How much information can you get from it?"

"_A fair amount. I know that now the dragon slumbers at this time. Malchior has spent much of the energy he has gathered, but on what I do not know."_

"He's been possessing children. Sending them around our city to do his bidding."

Rorek growled angrily. _"That foul beast. Bringing the blood of innocents into his fights. I would expect nothing else from him."_

Raven walked over to her window, where the sphere of black energy could be seen even in the dark of night. She pointed out to it, with Rorek following her gaze. "What do you make of that? My power wasn't able to pierce through it."

The ancient wizard narrowed his eyes. "_The Sphere of Staldar. A spell that's virtually impenetrable for outsiders to infiltrate. He's used this many a time during my battles with him. And the spell grows stronger the more he's released from his prison."_ He turned back to Raven. _"Dear Raven, the link I share with him will be severed if he does not return to the book before too long. If it is broken...well, your world would be in great peril."_

Raven processed this all in her head. The last few minutes had been mind-boggling. She was still a little suspicious, but given the circumstances, she didn't have much of a choice. She looked down at the miniature projection. "If I get inside and perform the curse, do you think it would work?"

"_At this point, no. Even now, his power is too great, even for your magic."_

"Ugh. So much for that option."

Rorek didn't not respond right away as he tapped one of the runes on the page. _"Hmm."_

"What is it?"

"_There...may be another way. We would need additional resources, however._" Rorek closed his eyes in thought. "_You said you have a team. Are any of them adept in magic?"_

"If you count Beast Boy killing the mood when he tells a joke, then yes." Raven lightly chuckled at her joke, but remembered who she was talking to. "Er...no. I'm the only one with magic."

"_Hmm. They will have to do under the circumstances." _Rorek raised a hand, letters appearing in front of him. _"Take me to them with haste. I will explain the preparations to you all when we are gathered."_

* * *

"So...let me see if I have this straight."

The team was gathered around the living room console, Raven's book in the center of them. The announcement of Raven having a plan to rescue the children and defeat Mumbo was met with confidence and gratitude. The announcement that it was really Malchior and they would be needed to help vanquish him was met with...less enthusiasm.

"You want us to help you participate in some sort of demon black magic ritual thingy that would result in us getting the giant dragon back into the book that we put in him before?"

"Yes, Cyborg. That's what I'm asking."

"And you want us to take the word of _him?_" Cyborg pointed to the tiny Rorek, who had his head in his hand.

"_I do realize that this seems very implausible, but I assure you that this is the only option that we have. Raven will have to-Hey!"_

Rorek was cut off by the finger of Beast Boy prodding him in the back. "Dude, how did you fit in there?"

"Beast Boy, will you please stop messing with him?" Raven almost yelled. "He's trying to explain what we need to do."

"I've never seen a tiny man before. Except when we were at the circus before Mumbo started throwing magic around-"

"Beast Boy! Enough." Robin cut him off. "Look, this is crazy, and I can't believe this is happening either, but the fact of the matter is that we have the threat of this...thing...getting out and flattening the entire city. And frankly, I don't care if we get the aid of a magician from centuries ago. We could use it." The team leader turned to Rorek. "So all you need from us is to assist Raven?"

"_Of sorts. You four _(Rorek pointed to the rest of the team) _will be needed for opening a door through the Sphere. Once inside, you shall provide assistance to Raven as she uses the curse to return him to his prison. Once returned, I can strengthen our soul link and contain him in the book."_

"Umm...Mr. Rorek, sir," Starfire interjected. "You mentioned earlier that friend Raven's magic may not work this time. Is there an alternate plan in case our first does not work?"

"_There is, young maiden. However, I have the fullest belief in Raven's abilities. I am confident she will come through."_

Beast Boy leaned into Raven. "Does he know that I don't know a thing about magic?" he whispered.

"_I may be of miniature size and on another plane of existence, but my hearing is as sharp as ever, green warrior."_

"Oh. Oops."

"_This is not a world where magic is prevalent to everyone, but you five have as strong a bond as I have seen. I have faith that you will be victorious._" Rorek pulled his scarf closer to his face. _"Now, I must prepare Raven for the ritual. The rest of you should get as much rest as possible. We must strike at nightfall tomorrow, when Malchior least expects it. We will not have much more time than that."_

* * *

The next few hours consisted of Raven dabbling in deep meditation, chants of Azarian languages, and the reading of spells from cultures Raven didn't even know existed. The ordeal was energy-draining, and even with the relaxation exercises, it was the sight of the rising sun that made her realize that time had practically flown by.

"Ugh." Raven plopped herself down next to the window. "I feel like my head's about to explode."

"_We certainly do not want that, now do we?"_ Rorek was sitting cross-legged on the book. _"You are almost done. Regain your composure for a moment, and we will finish afterward."_

Relieved, she tried to relax a little bit, but being up all night was not really the best thing to do before going into battle with a magical dragon, so the intended outcome didn't happen. She instead tried to focus on something else. Her gaze fell to the tiny figure of Rorek.

Raven quickly glanced back at the dome outside, then back at him.

"Can I ask you something, Rorek?"

"_Ask away."_

Raven stared out the window before asking. "Why would you subject yourself to linking with Malchior? Was that the only way to defeat him?"

Rorek was hesitant to answer. _"Evil is never truly defeated, Raven. The sealing magic that I had used previously was not working, and our last battle was approaching the point where I could not waste any more time. The curse I used, as you know, was a last resort. It linked our souls together for eternity. As soon as my physical existence ended, I was bound to be within these pages with him forever. But at least, I would be able to contain him."_

She looked down at him. "But he escaped. He...appeared as you." Her cheeks grew hot. "He managed to get me on his side, pretending to be you."

"_Unfortunately, in our eternal battle of wits and magic, Malchior was able to catch me off guard. He imprisoned me and made himself the predominate presence in the spellbook. I could only watch as he manipulated you into his bidding._" Rorek paused briefly. _"If I had been stronger-"_

"It wasn't your fault, Rorek," Raven cut him off. "He fooled me. I should have known better." She glanced down at her hands, still faint with her magic. "The trade-off, if anything, is that he taught me all sorts of magic that I used to defeat him and even use to help the Titans."

"_Malchior does indeed know very powerful magic, and always had a thirst for more knowledge. As much as I hate to admit, it is a trait that I have in common with him. Of course, he strode off the path of righteousness a long time ago when he..."_

Raven noticed the shake in his voice. "When he what?"

"_...When he took away my beloved."_

Her heart sank as she saw his body slump. "I'm...sorry. I didn't know," she whispered. "You never mentioned that in your book."

"_I couldn't bring myself to relive that part of my past again. That is why she was excluded."_

"What was her name?"

Rorek wiped away a tear before continuing. _"Amalia. She was a wonderful sorceress and companion. It was such a dreary day when she was taken from me."_ He looked up at his companion. _"I see a lot of her in you, Raven. Strong, courageous...quite beautiful as well."_

"Uhh..." Now the blush was even brighter.

"_I apologize. I did not mean to cause you discomfort."_

"No, it's fine. I just don't really get complimented that often."

"_Your teammates don't marvel in your ability? Not even the green one?"_

"Trust me," Raven said, dipping down toward the white-haired sorcerer, "Beast Boy's more concerned about beating Cyborg in video games than complimenting me."

"_He certainly has an eye for you, though."_

Raven looked away, saying nothing. Rorek took the silence as the cue to move on. _"The time is almost upon us. You should get some rest. I've taught you all that you need to know to deal with Malchior. Now it's up to you. You and your team can do this. I believe in you."_

She picked up the book, holding the pages open for Rorek. "Do soul selfs even need sleep?"

"_It most likely would not hurt. Sleep well, Raven." _In a wisp of light, he disappeared back into the book. Slowly, she closed it up, her next works barely audibly.

"You too, Rorek."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I had to go back and watch _Spellbound _for a little bit in order to get my bearings again. Remember, I didn't originally have Rorek and Malchior in the early version of this story.

Next chapter will be the second to last, methinks. Confrontations will be made, spells may be broken...and demon children might flock around for a bit. I haven't figured out how many will fly around, though.

And no, I won't say next week will have the next chapter, because I'm not a schmuck. Like I was before.

Read and review, if you like. Until next time.


	5. Gilly Show

_**Disclaimer:** The Teen Titans characters and animation are the property of Glen Murakami and Warner Bros. Animation._

* * *

_**Chapter 4 – Gilly Show**_

Raven didn't get much sleep in the few hours she had afforded herself. Normally, this would be attested to her demon father trying to enter her mind. No, this time was part overwork, part dark dragon, and part possessed child.

Yeah, she gave up almost immediately.

Rorek had said that Malchior's power was getting stronger, and that after the next night, his power would be too overwhelming to contain. She still wasn't sure just what the connection was between Mumbo and the dragon, but at this point, she couldn't think too much about it. Time was almost up.

"Man, Raven, you look like crap."

Apparently, there was enough time for Beast Boy to keep making jokes.

"Gee, thanks, Beast Boy," she responded as she took a sip of her tea.

"Did you stay up all night with your new bestie?"

"We're not 'besties', whatever that means." Raven glanced across the counter at Starfire and Rorek's soul self engaged in conversation. "That would probably be more appropriate for Star, though."

Beast Boy gave her a quizzical look. "Are we really going through with all of this hocus pocus with that dragon? We barely beat him the first time."

"But we did. And we can do it again. We just need a little help, that's all."

"From your boyfriend, right?"

Despite her face slightly reddening, Raven gave him a cold stare. "I'm not going to dignify that with a response."

Robin and Cyborg chose that time to enter the common room. Robin shared the same look that Raven did; Cyborg's was physically impossible to replicate.

"How are you feeling, Raven?"

"Like a million dollars."

"You must be fine; your sarcasm is just as obvious as before," Cyborg quipped. "What are those two talking about over there?"

"I heard her mention something about _glarpnags_. I'm pretty sure he doesn't have any idea what those are."

Robin took a swig of his coffee. "So what's the plan?"

"Other than rescuing a ten thousand year old person from Starfire's culture?"

Raven put down her mug. "We're going to go as soon as everyone is ready. We don't have much time left, and we need as much of it as possible. Malchior shouldn't be expecting us this early."

"Isn't today the last day we have, though?"

"Technically, yes," Raven answered. "But the hour of dusk is considered to be when magic is its most potent. That's probably when Malchior will be at his strongest, and we need to avoid that."

"Aaaand how do you know all of this?"

The spellcaster looked away. "Because that's what Rorek told me last night."

Beast Boy narrowed his eyes, his grin becoming even wider. "What else did he tell you last night?"

She couldn't miss an opportunity like this. "That none of your jokes were funny."

"Hey!"

"Friends!" The four Titans turned to their fifth member, who had Rorek and his book in her hands. "I have been informed by friend Rorek that our time to act is fast approaching."

"Man, I can't make sense of all of this magic stuff," Beast Boy sighed. "Can I get a re-explanation? It feels like it's been months."

"_It has been only one night, Beast Boy,"_ Rorek reminded him. _"I can understand your confusion, however. A lot has happened in a very short period of time. Unfortunately, we are out of time. We must make haste to Malchior right now."_

The Titans nodded together. "Are you ready, Raven?"

She turned her gaze out the window, the dark sphere still present. "As ready as I'm ever going to be."

* * *

"_Is there anyone around?"_

"Doesn't look like it."

"_Very well. Let us get into position."_

The Titans got out of Cyborg's car and gazed up at the ominous bubble, still present after the past couple of days. Now that they were up close again, Raven's feeling of dread as back tenfold.

"_Please position yourself around Raven. Now that we are here, we need to move quickly. Robin, do you have the candles?"_

Robin nodded.

"_Good. Hand one out to each person and light them."_

Cyborg's pointer finger opened up to reveal a lighter, putting a flame on each candle.

"_Assemble yourselves in a circle around Raven. Raven, place me down in the middle and start the incantation."_

Raven put her hood over her head and sat down with Rorek's book in front. Closing her eyes, she started to mumble the chant that he had practiced with her last night.

The apparition of Rorek turned to the remaining teens. _"The rest of you can set your candles down. I believe now would be a good time for you to draw your weapons."_

"Why do you say that?" Robin asked.

"_Because we are about to be joined by some very unpleasant things very shortly."_

Cyborg cocked his sonic cannon, Starfire made a couple of starbolts, Robin drew his staff, and Beast Boy turned into a polar bear.

"_What Raven is doing right now is forcibly opening a doorway into the Shield of Staldar. The children of your city, whom have now been corrupted by Malchior, are going to notice it, and thus come to protect their master. We have to hold them off until Raven is done with her incantation."_

The sky began to get darker as electricity started to crack around the sphere. Beast Boy cast a worried glance at Raven.

"Uhh...I hate to be the downer, but these aren't exactly magic beasts we're fighting. It's kids. We don't want to hurt any of them, right?"

"All we're doing is protecting Raven," Robin said, turning the staff in his hands. "Once she's done, we'll make a break inside. Hopefully, we'll be able to evade them once we get in."

A loud shriek interrupted the Titans as several runes appeared under Raven's floating body.

"_It is almost time. Be ready to move-"_

The portion of the shield in front of Raven smashed into pieces, paving the way for their dramatic entrance...if it wasn't for the huge wave of bodies coming out from inside.

The force of the wave pushed the entire team back, almost throwing Rorek's book into the water. Beast Boy clutched it out of the air in hawk form and flew back to Raven, who was just coming out of her trance.

"Is it open?"

"Yeah," Cyborg answered her question, but with a worried look. "But I think _they _have something to say about it."

Raven looked up in the sky. All around the team was a mass amount of children, all dressed in very similar cloaks to hers. Just like May, all of them had glowing eyes and darkened skin, with some laughing in a demonic manner.

Rorek's apparition appeared on her shoulder. _"Raven, look."_

She looked back at the Shield to see that the hole she had made in the side was starting to repair itself. _"We do not have much time before the doorway closes again."_

"Anybody have a backup plan?" Beast Boy said as the crowd began to draw closer.

"I have one." Starfire glanced around at the enemies, and made a grab for Raven's hand. The spellcaster looked at her inquisitively...

And had to grab on to her tome for dear life, for Starfire reared back and threw Raven's body through the air, right at the hole in the wall.

"Many apologies in advance, friend Raven!"

She couldn't properly respond, probably because she was careening through the air, the force of the throw emptying her lungs. After a long moment, she slammed into the ground, just as the doorway repaired behind her.

"Star!" Raven coughed up some dirt as she got up. Realizing where she was, she ran up to the barrier, now with her friends on the other side. "I'm not leaving you guys behind!"

"Raven, we do not have the time to argue about this!" Starfire replied, her eyes now glowing green. "You are the one with the knowledge and the magic. You and friend Rorek are the only ones who can stop Malchior! We will keep a distraction up so that you may take care of the business."

"Star's right, Raven," Robin agreed. "You need to go. Don't worry about us. We'll be fine."

"Guys..."

"_They are right." _Rorek appeared again on her shoulder. _"Your noble friends will take Malchior's attention away from us. We need to go."_

Raven knew they were right. Steadying herself, she turned her back toward the group, but not before one last parting statement.

"Stay safe, guys."

With that, she was off into the unknown, the sick feeling in her stomach now threatening to overtake her.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Well.

This is a thing that I apparently used to do with much more frequency.

When we last left our young heroes, Raven was busy doing late nights with a spirit in a book. I had to reread my story to figure out what was going on. And now...I think I know? I guess it will be fun getting myself reacquainted with this story.

I'm not going to say when the next chapter will be out, because I don't know. I _do_ know that I had to split it again. Way too long for my tastes.

Read and review, if you like. Until next time.


End file.
